Permeable pavement

Permeable pavement are specially designed driveways, patios or paths that allow stormwater to soak into the ground.

Permeable pavement/pavers are specially designed hard surfaces that allow water to soak into the ground. There are a wide variety of permeable surface options, including porous asphalt, pervious concrete, permeable interlocking concrete pavers, permeable grout, and structurally reinforced grass and gravel. These surfaces can be driveways, parking lots, patios, walkways, and other hardscaped surfaces.

Illustration of an example of permeable pavement

Please note this figure is provided for illustrative purposes/reference only and may not represent a suitable configuration for your specific property. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their project is designed and installed considering the unique conditions of their property.

ON THIS PAGE

Benefits of permeable pavement
Rebate eligibility
Rebate amount
Requirements
- Project requirements
- Application and claim requirements
Resources
Application and claim forms

Benefits of permeable pavement

Reduces winter maintenance. Permeable surfaces are less prone to icing, reducing the need for sand and salt. When temperatures warm up, water melts and soaks into the ground.
Gives off less heat compared to regular concrete and asphalt, which lowers surface and surrounding area temperatures.
Improves property drainage because it holds more water than a typical lawn.
Helps prevent sewer backups and flooding during heavy rain by slowing down and reducing the amount of stormwater entering the drainage system.

task

Rebate eligibility

Single-family residential
Multi-family residential
Industrial, commercial, and institutional

payments

Rebate amount

$11 per metre squared of directly connected impervious area (DCIA)

Requirements

Project requirements

To receive a rebate for permeable pavement, the following requirements must be met:

Replace an area that was previously hardscaped (e.g. concrete or asphalt).
Must be installed by a contractor certified by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) or a manufacturer approved contractor (ex. authorized Belgard contractor, certified Techno-Bloc contractor).
Note: ICPI is now known as the Concrete Masonry and Hardscape Association.
Must be a permeable concrete or asphalt product, interlocking concrete pavers with permeable jointing mortar/permeable grout, or structurally reinforced grass or gravel.
Must have a bedding layer and a rock base layer, or equivalents.
Must slope away from building foundations.
Must have an approved City of Edmonton development permit for driveway expansion and/or change of driveway materials prior to beginning construction.
Must not contradict the City of Edmonton Drainage Bylaw. Here is some relevant information from the bylaw related to the release of water:

Roof and foundation drainage from a property is not permitted to be discharged:
- onto a pervious ground surface within one (1) meter of the building;
- within 150 mm of an adjacent lot;
- within 150 mm of a City of Edmonton right-of-way (ROW);
- to a location where the water has the potential to adversely impact slope stability, unstable ground, a ravine; or
- to a location or in a manner that causes or could cause nuisance, hazard or damage.

Application and claim requirements

Make sure that you have all of the necessary photos and documents so that we can efficiently process your application and claim. View helpful tips for filling out your application.

Pre-construction application requirements

Project description
Before photos
Design sketch
Directly connected impervious area (DCIA)
Planned project size
Cross section design sketch (indicating planned layer depths and materials to be used)

Multi-family, industrial, commercial and institutional customers if available, please include:

Storm servicing plans
Lot grading plans

Claim requirements

Photos:

Base preparation
Completed work
Itemized invoice from an Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) certified professional or manufacturer approved contractor
Copy of approved City of Edmonton development permit for driveway expansion and/or change of materials.
Note: ICPI is now known as the Concrete Masonry and Hardscape Association.

Resources

Calculate your permeable pavement area

Use the Permeable Pavement Sizing Tool and Alberta Clean Runoff Action Guide: Permeable Pavement to help calculate how big your permeable pavement area needs to be to store the runoff generated from your directly connected impervious area (DCIA). We recommend you try to capture 100% of the runoff generated. If your permeable pavement project contains a rock reservoir layer, you may direct additional runoff to the area (e.g. from your roof through a downspout). If your permeable pavement project does not contain a rock reservoir layer, no additional runoff may be directed to the area.

Example of rebate calculation

Replace concrete driveway with permeable pavers

A property is planning to replace their concrete driveway with permeable pavers that have a rock reservoir layer.

Their driveway area is 50 m².
Runoff from the entire 50 m² garage roof area is being redirected through a downspout onto the installed permeable pavement.
The total DCIA for the project is 100 m² (50 m² roof area + 50 m²driveway area).
In this example the driveway area is included in the DCIA determination because the area being replaced with permeable pavers was previously impermeable.

In this case, the applicant would receive a $1,100 rebate ($11 per m² of DCIA).

Examples of permeable pavement

Additional resources

Application and claim forms

Application form

Fill out this form to ensure your project is approved before you get started.

Claim form

Fill out this form if you have already been approved and have completed your project.

Questions?

Your questions and feedback are important to us.

Contact EPCOR

Email: rainwise@epcor.com